The Way They Were
by that-crazy-jesus-girl-sarah
Summary: Sometimes there's nothing worse than the things you can't change, and at seven, Olivia Walker knows this all too well. COMPLETE.
1. True Colors

**The greatly renowned though maybe not so beloved disclaimer:** I don't own W&G, any of the additional characters and whatnot...only NBC productions can have that claim to fame I guess. Bah.

_For those of you who peruse this and go "ok what the heck, that's not what it's like at all!" just bear with me...if I orchestrate this right, it's going to turn into a series of one shots for your (hopeful) reading pleasure. Those of you who dug "Their Trick, Her Treat" (thanks again soooooo much:-)) will have to switch gears, as this is a lot more dramatic...hope you like anyway!_

* * *

She should have been fast asleep, her beloved sheets and bedspread adorned with Care Bears wrapped cozily around her small form, happily engrossed in dreams of birthdays, ice cream, roller skating, baby animals, favorite cartoons, the way any seven year old should be entitled to. If she had, she never would have been at the window. 

Never would have seen Daddy giving himself so wholeheartedly to a face she couldn't quite make out through the darkness, never would have seen her legs spread wide or Daddy entering the stranger with an almost maniacal passion, moving hard, fast, heavy, never mind the sheets of rain teeming down on them. Never would have heard Daddy's zealous grunts or the stranger's shrill screams of a sort of pleasurable pain.

And her eyes burned. Olivia Walker's eyes burned as they never had before, not even Mommy had practically shoved herself and Mason out of the car in her frantic hurry to meet her newly found flame, not even when they found themselves in a nearly empty manse, save for the cook and a maid or two. Nothing, not her persistent calls for Daddy, not her four year old brother's animated search of the entire place from top to bottom in great anticipation of bestowing upon Daddy a special, though unidentifiable painting he had proudly completed just for him in preschool, had changed the fact that he was simply not there. That there were obviously things far more important than the regard of his children or their arrival.

And now she saw what they were.

It was a plain and simple nightmare that had brought her out of her bed that night in search of her father, desperately wanting to give him a chance to redeem himself--he _was _good at some things, after all.

And it was reaching the massive front hall windows that convinced her that maybe she had never woke up in the first place.

She let too much time go by, and they headed rather unsteadily from the handsome circular walkway towards the doors before she realized what was going on. She turned toward the stairway in a near blind panic, her foot catching on the hem of her baby blue flannel nightgown. The pain that occurred as her delicate face struck the second step was nothing to her sinking heart when she saw the expression crossing Daddy's pudgy face at the sight of her, one which very much resembled one he might have worn had he stumbled into a murder scene with the killer still there. The dark haired woman with him Olivia would have thought to be stunningly beautiful and not unlike the queens she would read about in her fairy tale storybooks if it hadn't been for the obvious repulsion written across her face as she gazed down unpleasantly at Olivia. Daddy brought her sharply back into reality as his hand shot out, closing painfully around her small arm and yanked her to her feet.

"You get back to bed," he commanded in a tone dangerously low, "and you stay there." He turned her toward the stairs with a shove that would have caused her to fall once more if she hadn't caught herself in time, and she took the stairs two at a time, flung herself into her bed, feeling her heart beat in her throat when she felt Daddy's eyes on her from the doorway a few minutes later.

"Don't get your summer sausages in a knot, Stanley Walker," a high pitched voice that caused Olivia to tremble in a mixture of anger, confusion, even fear, advised him. The voice that belonged to the woman Mommy would scream at Daddy about late at night, the reason Mommy eventually tore her and Mason away from the Walker manse so fast, Olivia could have sworn her baby teeth had been left behind. "She's in a land of kitties and cotton candy right now, don't give her another thought."

They moved away, and without even knowing this woman, Olivia hated her.

The tears finally came as she heard the bed creaking from Daddy's bedroom exactly one floor above her, the headboard banging into the wall, the drunken laughter. She didn't even try to stop, just sobbed, choking, gasping, furiously into her pillow and wanting to wish that this was a world where a genie would appear from a magic lamp and offer her one wish. She didn't need three. Just one. And then things could be the way they had been.

But Olivia knew no genie would appear, and she would receive no wish. It was something that she would have wanted, and even young as she was, she had learned long before she should have, that this was not a life where you got what you wanted.


	2. What Daddy Didn't Know

_Um ok. So, I lied. I'd intended for this to become a series of one shots as I mentioned in part 1, as I thought it would make the storyline more dramatic. But I'm scratching that idea, I'm just going to put short chapters into a short story...key word, short. I'm not anticipating this to go past two or three more chaps,nor chapters that are all that long.I want to keep this story pretty vague, so y'all who are following along have something to think about. Sometimes, depending on the story, what's not said turns out to be better, and I hope this is one of them._

* * *

Things were moving quickly. Too quickly for Olivia. Suddenly this faceless stranger had a name, Karen she was called, and seemed to be everywhere Olivia turned. The night Daddy had first brought her to the house Olivia assumed had been all but forgotten; at any rate, no mention had ever been made to it, not by Daddy, nor Karen. But then, any words from Karen meant for Olivia or Mason were few and far between, spoken only when they elicited some kind of pointed comment or criticism. It wasn't long before Daddy started talking about marriage, which was almost more than Olivia could bear. She spent the greater part at her time while at the Walker manse trying to avoid Karen as it was, but if Daddy was serious… 

But Olivia was about to discover just how much she didn't want Daddy asking this woman to be his wife, and it came in a form far behind the standard hard looks and cold, sardonic disparages.

"Who does that man and a half think he is, trying to reel in the boat in time for the shrimp dinner special at Le Cirque and nearly drowning us in the process?" Karen raged late one Saturday night, a Saturday that had been Karen free for Olivia up to now, since she and Daddy had left for a boating trip early in the morning. After a rather peaceful day of cartoons and a tea party she had managed to lure Mason to participate in by getting the cook to help her bake a triple fudge cake for it, she had gone downstairs for a glass of water and found the calm demeanor of the day about to come crashing down on her when she flicked on the kitchen lights and found a sullen Karen leaning against a spotless chrome counter, furiously nursing a drink. She got lividly to her feet which caused in Olivia a momentary tremor of fear before she realized Karen was just going for the mini bar. She watched as Karen dug through the liquor cabinet, retrieving a wine that Olivia knew was something special to Daddy--she didn't know why, just recalled his incessant warnings about no one ever laying so much as a finger on it.

"Let's just see how the Jolly Rich Giant feels when his precious imported Domaine Romanee Conti is missing," she seethed, moving to uncork it.

"Karen, no, that's--" Olivia knew the words were a mistake as soon as they left her mouth.

"That's what?" Karen prodded evenly.

"Daddy…he…doesn't want…that's his…he wouldn't like it if you…" Olivia's voice grew smaller as she went on, knowing she was fighting a losing battle.

"Did it occur to you," Karen hissed treacherously, "that I don't _care _what _Daddy _would or wouldn't like?…Or that I don't take well to a little girl who's age is apparently the same as her Daddy's IQ telling me _no? Did it?"_

"No…I…" Olivia searched desperately for a way to salvage the situation she was finding herself in and found none.

"Well, maybe I can help you out." She slammed the bottle down on her hardwood countertop, coming toward her with the darkness of a messenger of the devil, closing in on her as a lion on its prey. Olivia's mind had no time to process before an excruciating blow to the side of her head sent her crashing to the floor, and her head connecting with the edge of the counter on her way down reminded her vividly of the bruise that had lingered on her forehead for days after the night when she had been so greatly attempting not to be caught by her father, banging her head on the steps in the process. Her father, after kissing it the following morning, chose to pretend as if it was not there and never said a word about it. She squinted fearfully up at Karen, who was standing over her, a smirk firmly in place. Olivia felt her head gingerly, her small, nimble fingers coming in contact with blood. She brought her hand away from her head and in front of her face, staring at the sticky red substance in dismay, then back up at Karen, whose sneer had faltered slightly at the sight of the blood--what was that in her expression, fear? With a diminutive touch of guilt, or regret? But it was gone so quickly Olivia thought she must have imagined it, especially when Karen then yanked her up impatiently by the arm, ignoring Olivia's cry as pain shot through her at the force of it. Tears stung at Olivia's eyes in spite of her effort not to let them, and again she could have sworn she glimpsed Karen softening but she couldn't be sure as Karen pushed her toward the doorway.

"Go to bed," she ordered, "and be careful what you say next time. If you were really smart, you wouldn't say anything at all."

Olivia stumbled blindly to her bedroom, not bothering to see where her father had gotten to. She knew if he found out what had just occurred, surely he would chuck Karen out by her manicured fingers, but she couldn't think about that now. Her mind was too clouded to think about much of anything.

"Livvy…" It was only a soft whisper, but she gasped all the same, turning her head so quickly that anyone would have figured her for whiplash had they seen.

Her eyes meeting her chubby little brother's, who sat in his doorway watching her with an expression of sorrow.

"Why is she yelling at you?" he asked her softly. "Why do you got all that blood on you?"

"Why do you ask so many questions?" she snapped, not meaning to, but unable to help it.

"Did she do that? Is that why there's blood?" He acted as if he hadn't heard her. "Where's Daddy?"

"Mason…" She knelt down in front of him. "Can you do some things for me?"

He nodded.

"Okay. Could you first not ask me questions?"

"But…" He quieted when he saw the pleading crossing her delicate features. "Okay."

"Good. And can you not tell Daddy what happened?"

"Yeah."

"And…" She swallowed hard. "Could I maybe…sleep in your room tonight?"

He bit his lower lip in thought. "Okay, Liv," he said finally, "you can sleep with me." He patted her hand, then wrinkled his nose. "Just tonight. And I don't want that blood on my pillow so you better get it off first."

She laughed quietly, thinking of all the times she would have paid someone to adopt him as their own son, especially on Thanksgiving when he devoured the pumpkin pie before she got to it, leaving her with apple. But tonight, she would have paid for him not to be taken away. Once in the bathroom, she spent a long time studying herself in the mirror, every now and again feeling the tender spot that was just beginning to bruise over. She splashed her face several times and made her way to Mason's room, where he had already dozed off. She crawled underneath the fire engine printed covers and sighed, willing her tears not to return, to stay where they were.

And for once, they did.


	3. Liar Liar

_Hellloooooooo to my lovely readers, sorry it took me awhile to get this chap out, I'm not having nearly as much time to work on this as I anticipated...thanks a ton for the reviews, love to you all...and just a side note, I don't really believe Karen would hit Oliviaand Iwouldn't want everyone to think I do,but I'm putting Karen in a position where, prior to marrying Stan, she has a lot more issues to work out than she does now (LOL), and she's taking it out on Olivia. But, for future reference, know that I'm not going to make it too graphic or anything, and you'll notice that Karen does struggle with that aspect of herself during that time. Thanks much for putting up with my rambling, and now on to the relatively short chapter..._

* * *

After that, Olivia noticed Karen attempting to maintain a balance between being careful around her, but never hesitating when she thought Olivia had done something to warrant a slap, a kick, a scratch, a punch. Mud tracked in, toys left out, talking too loudly, wild games of hide and seek and tag through the manse with Mason, spilled glasses of milk, all things that Daddy barely noticed but that Karen was always the first to. Olivia often wondered if Karen could have been one of those witches she read about in storybooks, she had the makings of one, with the eyes seeing what no one else did or the seemingly terrible capacity to read minds. Not only read them, Olivia had frightening reason to suspect once she summoned up the courage to talk to Daddy, but control them as well. She trembled at the memory at it, at the bulging eyes, at the popping veins that were Daddy's reaction, the way he grabbed her, shook her, berated her for saying such things, overlooking the bruise that had taken place of the blood, as it was small enough to miss if one wasn't looking closely enough. Raged that if she hated being with himself and Karen so much, she could just damn well haul out and go back to her mother, even going as far as attempting to put a call in to Cathy himself before remembering that she and her new love interest wouldn't be coming back from Europe for another two or three weeks. He didn't say anything upon not being able to reach her, but turned Olivia away from his office, she knowing how deeply disappointed he was in her.

But sheer disappointment she would have gladly taken over what Karen had in store for her later, when the covers were slowly peeled away from her dozing form and she was ripped from her bed with the force of a tornado demolishing everything in its path.

"I thought," she whispered, clutching Olivia so closely to her that their noses were nearly touching, "I told you to be careful what you said…and if you were smart, you wouldn't…apparently, you're not all that smart." She threw Olivia to the floor, who tried to scoot away, but found her legs paralyzed with fear; Karen noticed.

"I could step on those skinny little twigs of yours," she chuckled viciously, referring to her legs, "and break them in about seventeen places…you know that, don't you?…and I should."

Olivia tried to swallow, but found her throat too dry to do so.

"But I don't suppose I will," she continued. "It might be somewhat difficult to explain to your father when he sees that you no longer have the capability to walk. And actually, Olivia, you'll find me a pretty fair person, I would think."

Olivia didn't have time to react as the tip of Karen's high heel connected squarely and painfully with her face. Blood gushed from her nose and mouth, and she prayed that the throbbing in her nose didn't mean it was broken.

"But that's where the fairness ends," she warned before she left Olivia's room. Olivia didn't bother to clean herself up this time; she simply didn't care, and fell asleep in her own blood. Had she stayed awake for just a short time longer, she might have realized Karen just outside her doorway, out of sight but still there, arms wrapped tightly around herself and trembling as if a sudden cold spell had come over the manse.

And in a way, it had.


	4. Please God

Normally a day that Daddy had taken off to spend time with Olivia especially would have put her on cloud nine, but not today, a rather gloomy Thursday that matched Olivia's mood a couple of weeks following her confession. The confession that caused Daddy and Karen to argue loudly from his bedroom at night, the confession that resulted in his deciding that all his daughter needed was a little attention, a little quality time with him. She might have enjoyed it if she hadn't known his intent was solely merciful. She could see Daddy trying not to notice that she was only picking at her breakfast, or that buying out FAO Schwartz no longer seemed appealing to her. Lunchtime came and he was still trying to pretend nothing was wrong. All Olivia wanted him to do was notice that yes, something _was _wrong. Ask me, Daddy! Why won't you ask…

"Here's an idea," he said pleasantly to his daughter while strolling more or less wordlessly through Central Park, "I'm sure Karen would appreciate it if we brought her a sandwich for lunch, what do you say? You want to stop by her office and surprise her?"

"I guess we could do that, Daddy," she said quietly, knowing that if that's what Daddy wanted to do, they would whether she truly wanted to or not. She didn't even comment as he picked up a couple of roast beef and swiss hoagies, one for Karen, one for Olivia, four for himself, knowing that she would just as soon have a case of Smirnoff, and would most likely work herself in an irritated frenzy at getting a sandwich instead.

Much as she did not want to see Karen, Olivia had to admit she did like the office she had recently begun working in with her friend Grace. It was small and cozy, and she thought it great fun to look at all the material Grace had stored there. Sometimes when Grace wasn't so pressed for time, she would show Olivia her latest sketches, and once even let her help pick out a color scheme for one of the bathrooms in an office building she was decorating. Olivia had chosen a pretty turquoise sort of color, and to this day was immensely proud of it.

A rush of relief surged through her as they stepped into the office and saw Karen nowhere, just Grace and her best friend Will sitting atop Grace's desk, working their way through cartons of Chinese and laughing over something in a magazine. Olivia had only met Will in the past month, but liked him. In the few times they had crossed paths, he was always nice and funny with her, and the fact that he usually had some kind of treat in his pocket to give her didn't hurt either.

"Well, _hey," _Grace greeted them enthusiastically upon noticing their arrival. "If you're looking for Karen, you just missed her."

"Oh, by how much?" Daddy set the sandwich intended for Karen at the edge of her desk; he had already finished his own, and Olivia, not particularly hungry at the present moment, hadn't even started on hers.

"What time is it now?" Grace glanced at her watch briefly. "Okay, it's twelve thirty now…by about three hours or so."

"The good news is you only have about another…" Will chewed his lip in thought. "Hmm, maybe three hours to wait for her."

Daddy shook his head. "I've never understood what she does in this office."

"Neither have I," Grace said absently, trying to catch the last few bites of shrimp lo mein with her chopsticks.

"And Miss Olivia," Will said, sweeping over to her, "to what do we owe this charming pleasure? Did you somehow hear these--" He dug a small bag out of his pocket. "Jelly beans calling your name?"

Olivia loved jelly beans. "Can I have them, Daddy?"

"Only if I have your promise that you won't open them until you have some lunch."

"Promise." She pocketed the candy and began unwrapping her sandwich, her appetite returning somewhat now that she was safe. Daddy and Will got into some long discussion about the law practice Will worked for and Grace got Olivia to share her sandwich with her by distracting her with a barrage of new sketches and wallpaper samples. She would have forgotten about Karen completely if it hadn't been for her voice just a little while later.

"I'm sorry I'm getting back so late, Grace, I know how much you hate it when I am," she sang out as she breezed through the door.

"Oh no," Grace said smoothly, not looking at her. "God forbid should you ever be on time, Karen, I'd be so disappointed in you if that were so."

"Oh. Well, honey, that's even better. I was doing mankind a favor while I was out there, and it means so much more that you understand."

"You were positioned at the edge of the Chrysler building prepared to jump?" Will inquired with interest.

"More like positioned outside the Palm Court assisting a group of homeless vagrants, if you must know."

"Karen, we already talked about setting living things on fire," Grace said in alarm.

"Oh, not that, Grace!" Karen waved her off. "Nothing that beneficial, I'm afraid. I didn't have time to do anything other than show them a little something that lured them away rather quickly from a location where the human race congregates."

"The human race?" Will repeated. "Well, I suppose that leaves you out."

"And Stanley, it's so sweet that you would come to call," she said. "What prompted this?"

"Well, Olivia and I thought you might like some lunch," he said, gesturing toward the sandwich.

"Oh. Something that requires chewing. It's a nice thought, Stan." She gave him a peck on the cheek. "My Stanley is full of nice thoughts," she announced to Will and Grace. "In fact, he had a particularly nice one last night--"

Daddy quieted her with a sudden warning glance that did not go unnoticed by Olivia.

"What's nice?" she asked anxiously.

"Good _Lord, _Stanley, do you mean to tell me you've spent the entire morning feeding this girl's desperate plea for attention and you never _told _her?"

Daddy cleared his throat. "Karen--"

"What did you not tell me, Daddy?" _Please God, no, I promise to make my bed every day and keep my room clean and eat all my dinner and take care of Mason if…_

"I'm not going to beat around the vodka, kid, if your daddy doesn't have the balls to tell you--and I don't know why he wouldn't, since…well, then I will. We're hitching up."

"Karen--"

"Stop it, Stan," Karen commanded. "You had more than enough time to break it to her--"

"But this isn't the way I anticipated--"

"To hell with how you anticipated telling her, if I'm going to be her stepmother it's better she knows sooner than later."

_Stepmother?_

"You're getting married?" Olivia said softly.

"In two months' time, you'd better believe it," Karen retorted, nodding adamantly.

_Thanks, God._


	5. Alternate Universe

It didn't matter that Daddy held her in his lap for awhile, or that Grace took her out to a massive cabin she was in the process of redecorating in Woodland for a renowned writer and allowed her to partake in some of the decisions. Under any other circumstance, this would have shot her into a state of utter ecstasy but not today. Grace attempted desperately on the drive to the cabin and back to bring her some cheer, promising Olivia could accompany her to the cabin on weekends, promising that she could help with sketches, promising, as they passed it once back in the city, dinner and colossal ice cream sundaes at one of Olivia's favorite restaurants, but nothing took. In the remaining half hour before Grace dropped Olivia at the Walker manse, silence reigned through the rented vehicle. As she pulled up to the driveway, Olivia sat, not wanting to get out, but not wanting to stay in.

"Listen, Olivia…" Grace sighed. "It'll be okay, really. I know Karen seems a little rough around the edges, but I'm sure…" She trailed off when Olivia's eyes coldly met her own. She had no idea. None. "Okay. But it would really mean a lot to me if you would come by the office, I don't know how I'm going to finish that cabin without you--"

"You will," Olivia said quietly, "you always have before." She undid her seat belt, but still made no move to leave.

"Well, I…" Grace bit her lip. "And…and you know where Will and I are, come to us if you…well, you're welcome to come, all right?" She leaned over to hug her and felt the little girl instantly tense as Grace wrapped an arm around Olivia's neck and squeezed. The back of her neck was still a bit bruised and tender from two nights before when Karen delivered a blow to it with a silver goblet she had only just caught one of the maids trying to stuff down her uniform. "What is it? What's the matter?"

"Nothing. Nothing." Olivia shook her head fiercely. Her neck stung where Grace had come in contact with it, but Grace couldn't know. After the disaster with Daddy, nobody could. Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed Karen leaning against one of the white marble columns holding up their elaborately decorated front porch, a cigarette in one hand, a martini in the other, squinting in their direction. "I've got to go, Grace, I've got to go." She scrambled to open her door.

"Are you okay, Olivia?"

"Yeah, I just…forgot, it must be late. Thanks for the ride, I'll see you…bye."

"Okay, sweetie, but you have to promise you'll come see me."

"I promise, bye!"

She scampered up the walkway leading to the porch, then slowed once she was within a few feet of it, trying to avoid eye contact with her future stepmother.

"Did you have fun telling her what a terrible life you lead?" Karen's cool tone stopped Olivia cold.

"I didn't say anything to her."

Karen paused, taking an extra long drag on her cigarette. "I guess I didn't think you did," she said quietly. "It's…been kind of a…long day, hasn't it?"

"Yeah. Kind of."

"Yeah." An inadvertent shudder went through Olivia as Karen reached out to her, but it was merely to run a quick hand through Olivia's shoulder length red curls, so quick that if Olivia had blinked, she would have missed it. Karen cleared her throat following the gesture, as if embarrassed that she had done it. "Why don't you go in the house now, get ready for bed."

Olivia nodded, confused at Karen's change of demeanor. It was one of the first things Olivia had ever noticed about her, how she could go so quickly from one mood or attitude to the next, but she still didn't understand it. And her softer moments didn't often extend to Olivia or Mason.

She trudged up the stairs, heard Daddy in his office but didn't feel like talking to him at the moment, and went to her room. Spread over her neatly made bed was the most beautiful sweater she had ever seen, soft lavender, flowers of a darker purple with yellow centers embroidered carefully in various places. She picked it up, savoring the feel of the soft material, not certain what kind it was but knowing it was very expensive, fingering the flowers gently. Clutching it to her, she found her father working on his laptop but figured he wouldn't mind a brief interruption.

"Dad?"

He swiveled in his chair to face her. "Hi, Liv, did you just get in?"

"Yeah, Grace dropped me off." She held out the sweater to him. "Thank you for this."

Daddy shook his head, smiled a bit. "You don't have to thank me, I didn't buy it for you. Although I do have to admit, if I'd seen it first, I would have."

Olivia frowned. "Who did, then?"

"Who do you think?" Daddy lightly chucked her shoulder. "Karen brought that home for you this afternoon."

"Karen did? Why?"

"I don't know if it matters, and even if it did, she didn't say why. I think she just wanted to do something nice for you."

"Oh." Olivia gazed down longingly at the sweater. She _did _love it, that was true, but without knowing the true intent behind Karen buying it for her somehow made her feel surprisingly vulnerable.

"So you be careful, Olivia," Daddy warned her, his tone suddenly dripping with austerity. "You be careful what you do, you be careful what you say. This is a good time for us, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's an easy time. We all have to learn how to adjust a bit differently than we did before. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I understand."

"Good." He leaned over and gave her cheek a quick peck. "'Night."

And as she left his office, she didn't feel any happier after receiving the gift than before.


	6. Lost, But Not So Much Found

The seven year old in her who truly loved the sweater that had been left for her won over the part of her that simply wanted to ball it up and shove it in the back of her closet on the account of Karen being the one who had given it to her. Karen didn't comment upon seeing Olivia in it the following day, though nodded to show she noticed it. Olivia wanted to thank her, but didn't know how to go about doing it. How did you thank someone who was bruising your ribs one day and bestowing gifts upon you the next? Her uncertainty to enjoy it, however, left her once she was at school, when all she wanted to do was show it off. She even folded it up, placing it neatly in her cubby prior to going out for recess, not wanting anything to happen to it while she was hard at play, proud of how well she was taking care of it. Nevertheless, all that was lost when she returned from recess and found it missing. Her throat dried up, her eyes stung, her breath left her; not being able to even begin to fathom what her father, and particularly Karen, would do to her if the sweater didn't turn up upset her far more than actually losing it did. She called to her teacher, near tears, who put the class to a quick scour of the classroom, but the sweater was nowhere to be seen. Olivia didn't even try to hold back her tears by the end of the day, just let them run freely down her face, not caring who saw. Her teacher sympathized her, gave her a hug, assured her that they'd find it somehow, but the teacher didn't understand. No one could possibly understand what losing that sweater meant for Olivia. She trudged out miserably to the limo waiting to pick her up, the pale pink t-shirt she had worn under the sweater the only thing shielding her from the autumn chill.

"Something bothering you, Miss Olivia?" the driver asked her pleasantly.

"Um, no, nothing," she lied, settling back in her seat and wishing the world would open up and swallow her.

"We need to stop and pick up Miss Karen, that is, if you have no objection."

Olivia had a world of objection at the moment, but had a feeling the driver had only said that to humor her. "From work?"

"Yes, from the office."

At this, Olivia brightened slightly. The prospect of seeing Grace nearly made her day. She begged to be the one to go up and get Karen, which made the driver smile.

"Please tell Miss Karen to take her time."

Olivia nodded eagerly and made her way up to the headquarters that was Grace Adler Designs, but let herself in tentatively. Her gaze first landed on Karen, leaning back in her desk chair and carefully reapplying her lipstick, then shifted to Grace, who seemed engrossed in the notes she was making. She wasn't sure what to do, not wanting to interrupt either of them, but cleared her throat a bit, causing both of them to look up.

"Hey you," Grace greeted her with a welcoming smile. "I didn't expect to see you back here so soon."

"I wanted to say hi," Olivia said shyly, more to her pink high tops than to Grace. "And the driver said you wanted him to pick you up, Karen."

She nodded absently. "I'll be ready in a minute."

"What are you working on?" Olivia asked Grace, walking closer to see for herself.

"Well, I have a client who wants some work done on his penthouse," she said, scribbling away. "I met with him this morning and I'm going to see the place in a few minutes here. Do you want to come with me?"

Olivia was all set to say yes before Karen intervened.

"I'm afraid Olivia has some other things she needs to be doing this afternoon, Grace," she said coolly. "She'll have to join you some other time."

Olivia felt as if she had punched in the stomach, but knew it was in her best interest not to argue.

"Yeah, but that's okay," she said. "I'll come some other time, like Karen said."

Grace shrugged. "Oh. Well, I'll have to let you know what I come up with. I'm sure I'll need some opinions soon."

"Come on, Olivia." Karen's voice cut into her like a knife. "See ya, Red."

"'Bye, Karen." Grace smiled at Olivia. "'Bye, sweetie."

"'Bye, Grace," Olivia said distractedly, more focused on Karen at the moment. Did she know about the sweater? Could she sense it? Already sweat was pooling in her palms and all she wanted was to hide behind Grace and never come out.

"You must be cold," Karen remarked as they took the elevator downstairs.

Olivia instantly grew colder at her words.

"No, I'm…I'm okay."

"Well, even if that's so, you wouldn't want to catch a cold. Why don't you put on that nice little sweater?"

"I…" She had some quick decisions to make. How much worse would Karen go on her if she told the truth versus lied? Or if she lied versus telling the truth? She honestly didn't know, but was certain that her father would hear of it eventually and somehow he always knew when she and Mason were lying instead of telling the truth.

"Did you leave it in the limo?"

"No."

"Where is it?"

Olivia walked faster then. She couldn't do this, she couldn't--

She felt herself being jerked roughly backward, Karen forcing her to look her in the eye.

"Where is the sweater, Olivia?"

"I…"

"I'll know if you lie to me."

"I…I'm not going to." Olivia drew in her breath. "I--don't know where it is."

Karen's grip on her tightened. "You don't know?"

"No, Karen, I was trying to take such good care of it." Olivia's eyes searched her future stepmother imploringly. "Really I was, I didn't want to ruin it at recess time so I put it in my cubby and…" She trailed off when she saw that Karen was not accepting what she was saying. But even Karen was smart enough to pull anything so near Grace's office and simply hauled her outside to the limo, with such a force that Olivia literally feared that she would lose her arm. The ride back to the manse was dead silent, save for Karen brusquely demanding if Daddy was home yet, and the driver responding that he would be several more hours that night. Olivia trembled, knowing exactly why Karen had been asking. She wasted no time once they had pulled into the driveway dragging Olivia into the manse, Olivia praying to disappear with every furious step Karen took and up to her bedroom, where she threw her on to her bed. Olivia instinctively reached for her favorite doll, one she had recently saved up her very own money to buy and loved very much, clutching it to her.

"Good God, let go of that damn thing," Karen snapped at her impatiently, sick of seeing Olivia wandering all over the house with it since the day she got it, but for once, Olivia did not obey.

"I said let _go _of it," Karen ordered through clenched teeth, snatching it away from Olivia before she knew what was happening.

"Give her back!" Olivia shouted at her, leaping forward to take back her beloved doll, but Karen held it just out of her reach and used her free hand to shove Olivia backward. Her head connected painfully with the wall, causing Olivia's eyes to water.

"My goodness," Karen said with a mock seriousness, "if you think that tone of voice is the best way for you to get what you want, I think you have another thing coming." She took the doll in both hands, examining it rather roughly. "So adorable of you, Olivia, the way you saved your precious little pennies one by one to buy this."

"Can I please have her back?" Olivia begged softly, trying to keep her voice devoid of the sobs that threatened.

"Not quite yet," Karen replied smoothly. "Tell me, Olivia, isn't it just the most satisfying feeling in world to have bought something with your own money? Isn't it? I'm asking," she added a bit more scathingly, "because I expect an answer."

"Yes," Olivia sniffled.

"We agree on that then, good. Now let's say we…turn the tables a bit, hmm?" Without warning, she flew into the rage that had evidently been repressing itself since the office, first striking Olivia with the doll several times before smashing it against the wall, the headboard of Olivia's bed, anywhere she could do one of Olivia's most prized possessions the most damage.

"No! Karen…don't do that to her, please give her back to me…" Olivia was sobbing openly now, there was no point in hiding it.

"Stop it!" Karen shouted at her lividly, pausing only to deliver a painful blow to the side of Olivia's head. "It's a stupid doll…and you're a stupid brat…throwing away a two hundred and fifty dollar sweater I didn't even have to buy for you…"

_With Daddy's money, _Olivia didn't dare to say out loud.

"You're not going to ruin this for your father and me, you're not," Karen continued vehemently. She threw the remains of the doll at the foot of Olivia's bed. Olivia slowly gathered up the pieces that were left, though knowing there was no hope of repairing them.

"You're going to stay in this room, and only when your father comes home might I consider letting you out," Karen told her before slamming the door so hard that the walls shook.

But at the moment, mourning the loss of her doll and still shaken over Karen's wrath, she wouldn't have minded staying in her room for the rest of her life.


	7. More Than Too Far

The upside of the situation was that Daddy didn't seem as quick to blame Olivia for the missing sweater as Karen was; while he was disappointed that a sweater so costly had disappeared, he agreed that his daughter had done her best by putting it away while she went outside and that it wasn't ultimately her fault that it couldn't be found now. He simply warned her to be more careful of her belongings in the future and to keep an eye out for the sweater. It was obvious, to Olivia if not to Daddy, how stewed Karen was over Daddy's liberal dealing with his daughter, but she chose not to comment on it and Olivia was glad. In her opinion, Karen had done enough in one punishment for a lifetime of them.

The days prior to the wedding were zipping by, much faster than Olivia would have liked, and nothing was changing. Karen had her good moments, and mostly her bad moments, and Olivia continued to have countless cuts and bruises to remind her of those bad moments. She had begun to accept them as something inevitable as church on Sundays, and was slowly growing numb to her beatings. She hungered for Karen's love, dreamed of it, drew of it in pictures, wrote it in silly little stories and poetry. But she never truly believed it would come her way. Karen soon to be Walker didn't seem to love anything or anybody. Except herself and Daddy's money. She even treated Daddy's liquor cabinet better than she did Olivia.

Olivia was literally counting the minutes to the day when her mother would come and pick her and Mason up, a day that never did end up coming. Cathy had called and let her ex-husband know that she and her boyfriend, almost fiancee, were spending an extra couple of weeks in Europe, and then she would be booked with business trips for another month or so, so could he possibly keep the children until things started settling down? Olivia's heart sank at this, she loved her father dearly, but being with him meant being with Karen and there was nothing she could do about it.

By the time the halfway point to the wedding had hit, with a month to go, Olivia seemed to have been granted a reprieve. Karen was much too busy with wedding plans to pay any attention to Olivia, save for anything that had to do with the wedding itself. Olivia was dreading the day Daddy expected her to spend alone with Karen, finding a dress and shoes, which in truth turned out to be fun. Olivia giggled helplessly at the high jinks Karen would pull on store clerks, which encouraged her all the more and put her in an unusually good mood. They spent the morning driving the employees at various stores crazy by trying on dresses they had no intention of buying and after a break for lunch where Karen drank more than she actually spoke, though Olivia enjoyed it nonetheless, they got down to business. They laughed their way through the afternoon, particularly when Olivia somehow got herself stuck in a dress that tied in a variety of places, which she was able to get into just fine, but then couldn't figure out how to get out of it. Karen was laughing almost too hard to help her out of it, but they managed in the end. And at the end of the day, Olivia was able to fall into her first peaceful sleep in weeks, with not a worry in the world, as most children her age should.

Olivia was able to break free from all the wedding hoopla the following day when Grace invited her to accompany her back out to Woodland for one last time to put the finishing touches on the cabin. The painters had come and gone, as had the company Grace had called to lay the floors down, and she and Olivia put out the rugs they had chosen and did one final once over before the owner met them there, very pleased with the work that had been done. Olivia walked around outside while Grace and the owner went over some final paperwork, kicking at the leaves, savoring the breeze and wishing Daddy had a place out in the country like this. They lived much too close to the city for Olivia to often enjoy such a scene as the one before her now.

"Okay, kid," Grace sang out happily as she came through the door. "Let's roll."

"Thank you for helping out, Olivia," the owner called to her. "Here's a little something for you." He held out a ten dollar bill for her.

"That's okay," Olivia called back, waving him off.

"No, no, I insist you take it," he said, not wavering, and she finally did and thanked him.

"I hope you're hungry because we're heading for the dinner of our lives," Grace told her as she shifted the car into gear. She flashed her latest check in front of Olivia. "All thanks to this sucker right here. You in?"

"Sure." She loved being with Grace, wondered why Grace couldn't be her stepmother instead, wondered how Grace would react if she knew what Karen did to Olivia.

"What's the matter?" Grace asked her, and Olivia blushed, not meaning to have stared at her so strangely.

She shook her head. "Nothing is."

"How's everything with the wedding coming along?"

Olivia hesitated; as much fun as she had had with Karen the day before, somewhere inside her she knew it was only a temporary peace and was not looking forward to the day when Karen would officially be with them forever.

"Everything's okay," she said. "Doesn't Karen talk about the wedding?"

"Sweetie, Karen talks a lot. But not necessarily to me. Half the time I don't know _who _or what she's talking to."

Olivia wrinkled her nose. "But there's only you and her at the office."

"Try telling her that." Grace paused. "But are you finding it's going to be okay having her around after all?"

Olivia's eyes instantly welled up and she lowered them to keep Grace from seeing. It wasn't okay that Karen was going to be around her, not okay at all. And she didn't dare hope that it ever would be.

"Oh, Olivia," Grace said sympathetically, pulling the small girl from the passenger seat into her own lap, "it's really okay…it's going to be okay--"

"No, it isn't," Olivia wept, unable to keep her tears in check any longer.

"I know it seems that way now, but…"

"It's always going to be that way, Grace, you don't know what--" She stopped short, stopped her tears, feeling her heart leap into her throat. She abruptly removed herself from Grace's lap and turned her gaze toward the window, unable to believe what she had almost done.

"What don't I know?" Grace pressed softly.

Olivia didn't respond.

"Do you need help, Olivia?"

She did, but she couldn't ask for it.

"Can we just go home?" she whispered, not looking at Grace.

"No dinner?"

"If you want, but I'm not very hungry."

"Well, that's okay," Grace said as they began driving the quiet streets, heading for the interstate that would take them back into the city. "We can save it for another time."

"You don't have to," Olivia said quietly. "Go with Will."

"If I recall correctly, Will didn't contribute a thing to this project other than trying to pay me off to get him a date with the writer who owns the cabin," Grace said. "He ain't getting a thing out of it, not even a date."

Olivia laughed a bit. "Will's funny."

"Yeah, he can be." They drove the rest of the way making small talk, but both their minds troubled. There was something more going on than met the eye, Grace surmised, and she wasn't against finding out what, which is exactly what Olivia was afraid of at the moment. And she was certain that if Karen knew what had just gone on, a couple of bruises and a destroyed doll would surely be the least of Olivia's worries.

"Okay, kid," Grace said as she slowed to a stop in front of the Walker manse. "I'm going to hold you to that dinner, you know."

"I'm going to hold me to it too," Olivia assured her. "Just not tonight." She hopped out and scuttled up the driveway with one last wave in Grace's direction, heading immediately to her room once inside. She couldn't take the chance that she would run into Karen, she had a feeling her face would give away that she had just about cracked.

She flew past her father's office, he who was in there, and seemed to be getting ready for something.

"Whoa, whoa, Liv!" he called out to her and she obediently stopped in her tracks, although that was the last thing she felt like doing. "Where's the fire?"

Olivia shrugged.

"Well, listen, honey, I wanted to have dinner with you and Mason tonight but I'm afraid I have to catch an early flight out--"

"Tonight? Where are you going?"

"I have some negotiations to take care of in Chicago, but I should be back by Tuesday."

Olivia frowned. "Is Mom going to come get me and Mason?"

Daddy chuckled. "No, she's in Chicago too right now, but Karen's going to be here. That's okay with you, right?" His tone indicated that it didn't really matter at that point whether it was okay or not.

"Yeah, it's okay." She could only hope Karen would maintain the fun, playful mood she had had for the last few days, but wasn't at all sure she could count on it.

"Great. It'll be fun, I promise. You be good for her, okay?" He gave her a quick kiss and hurried off to say goodbye to Mason.

Olivia continued to her room, wondering if it was at all possible to get away with staying there until Daddy returned. She didn't see what Karen could get so angry about with her if she only just stayed out of her way, but her strategy proved fruitless when Karen burst into her room not even ten minutes following Daddy's departure.

"Would you care to explain to me the very interesting phone call I just received?" she demanded.

"Phone call?" Olivia repeated with a halfhearted attempt to play dumb, but knowing it wouldn't work on Karen.

"Phone call, you idiot," Karen confirmed. "From your best friend Grace…she seems to think there's something about you to be worried about. Could you possibly tell me whatever gave her that idea?"

Olivia dodged her question. "What else did she say?"

Karen snorted derisively. "Something inane about keeping an eye on you…what a _delicate _time it is for you and Mason…making myself _available _to you when you needed it…really, that Grace Ackler should have a front row seat at the American Comedy Awards, that's how funny she is. Now you tell me, you little bitch." Karen hardened suddenly, as Olivia knew she would. "What did you do? What did you tell her?"

"I swear I didn't do or say anything," Olivia told her solemnly, "and her last name is Adler."

"Like I give a _damn _what her last name is when you've obviously done something to arouse her suspicions, and you're going to tell me _what!"_

"I didn't! She was asking me about the wedding and I wasn't really saying anything and…I don't know! But I didn't do anything that should make her worried about me!"

"You're lying," Karen said abruptly. "Something happened that you're not telling me about."

Olivia paused, which was possibly her own undoing; after all, something _had _happened that she wasn't telling Karen, and Karen saw it. She came at Olivia faster than Olivia could react and hit her with a force that knocked her to the floor.

"Tell me what you _said!" _Karen roared at her.

_"I didn't say anything!"_

Olivia braced herself for the strike that was coming, and she instantly knew how the cartoon characters who saw stars after being bashed over the head must have felt.

"What the hell is the matter with you, so selfish and stupid…don't give a damn if you screw the whole goddamn world over if it isn't about you, you're going to ruin everything…" Karen spat out her hatred between blows.

"That's not true!" Olivia managed to defend herself through the blood trickling from her mouth, and paid for her response by just barely dodging the snow globe Karen snatched up from Olivia's dresser and hurled at her. Furious, Karen caught Olivia roughly by the arm and shoved her against the wall, but for the first time, not being aware of her own strength, she twisted too forcefully and they both heard the snap in Olivia's arm that followed. Karen immediately released her and Olivia was immobile with shock. The snap caused a brief numbness that turned into an awful tingling sensation. It didn't exactly hurt, but Olivia knew something was very wrong, and a quick glance at her arm to see the unnaturally twisted way it jutted out proved it.


	8. Safe Harbor

_Hey all you beautiful readers ;-) This chapter and the next will mark conclusion for this story. I tried to make them deep without making them too cliche but I'm not sure how well that went. Well, enjoy:-)_

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A wave of nausea passed over the small girl and she collapsed into Karen, who, rather than pushing her away, allowed her to lean against her as she examined Olivia's arm, swallowing hard. She gathered Olivia into her arms, trying her hardest not to disturb the injured arm, and carried Olivia out to the hallway when she was certain it was clear of maids.

"Where are we going?" Olivia whispered, in too much shock and beginning-to-set pain to speak any louder.

_"Shh," _Karen told her softly. "Don't talk right now…it's okay…we're going to make your arm better…" She called frantically out to a maid passing by the foot of the stairs to alert the driver to get the car ready. The maid hurried to obey orders while Olivia and Karen both shook uncontrollably, each for different reasons. The ride to the hospital seemed endless, Olivia lying so that her head was in Karen's lap and the rest of her was sprawled out across the backseat with a soft blue blanket over her, crying every now and again but attempting to appear brave at the same time. Karen kissed the top of her head absently, not aware of what she was doing in her panic. "Is it hurting a lot?"

Olivia nodded, her eyes welling up again.

"We're almost there, Olivia, and they'll put a cast on your arm to fix it and give you something so it won't hurt so much…okay?"

Olivia nodded again.

Karen rushed her into the emergency room before the driver had even come to a full stop, and they were seen immediately. The doctor was a kindly older man who joked gently with Olivia to try to keep her mind off the pain while he examined her.

"This is quite a break," he announced after awhile. "What is it exactly that happened, honey?" He directed the question toward Olivia, but Karen answered it for her.

"Keep telling those kids to quit running through the house," she chuckled, trying and succeeding rather well to keep her voice steady, "and the way they leave their toys around is just asking for trouble…isn't that right, honey?"

Olivia knew she couldn't dare say no, so she merely nodded, and so did the doctor.

"Yeah, I suppose that would do it," he said. He glanced at Karen. "I'm going to send her in for some x-rays so we know more about what we're dealing with, but it won't take too long, okay?"

Karen kept her hand on Olivia's good shoulder as an orderly wheeled her to the radiation department, hoping Olivia wasn't noticing how much she was shaking, and Olivia was still shaking so much herself that she didn't.

"Karen?"

Karen whipped her head around, wondering who could possibly know her here, and immediately recognized the red mess Grace called hair hurrying toward her.

"Grace," Karen blurted out as Grace reached her. "What are you--too much an emergency for even the gals at the beauty parlor to touch?"

"Man, you just have me all figured out, don't you, Sherlock Ho?" Grace shot back. "And you, Miss Olivia, a hospital is for sick people and you look quite well to me."

Olivia simply turned away instead of answering her, not particularly happy with her at the moment. She knew Grace had only been trying to look out for her by calling Karen, but that call was what had gotten her here and it didn't keep Olivia from being angry with her.

Karen shrugged casually, and Olivia idly wondered if Grace would be able to see right through her. "Yeah well, what can we tell ya, Gracie, she's obviously not getting the difference between a one point five million dollar manse and a school playground."

"Oh, is that what's going on?" Grace ran her fingers through Olivia's silky curls. "Huh. Maybe if you went to the playground more often, you could avoid problems like this in the future, you think? Once your arm's better, Olivia, we'll take those slides together, okay?"

Olivia had to smile at the image, though she didn't foresee it happening.

Grace rolled her eyes at Karen. "Jack--you know who Jack is, right? I don't think you've met him--"

"I've met a lot of Jacks."

"I said _Jack_--you know, as in a person? Not a jack _off._ Anyway, Will's friend okay? He sees this Dairy Queen commercial where some moronic guy gets his tongue stuck in some beaters, it's this whole promotional thing for some Brownie Batter Blizzard they've got going on, looks damn good too and I was going to make Will buy me three of them, but then Jack has to all be scoffing the guy who got his tongue stuck so he's all 'yeah right' and tries to show the guy up and here we are in the ER and…" She shrugged helplessly. "What can you do?"

Karen shook her head in mock amazement. "Honey, you just never cease to fascinate me, did you know? You really need to write that one down."

"And I'm going to pretend you meant that."

"_Grace! _If you're sneaking around stealing pudding cups off random lunch trays and stuffing them down your shirt, I'm going to--" Will appeared abruptly around the corner and stopped when he saw Karen and Olivia. "Well, my goodness. If you're here, Karen, who's guarding hell?" His eyes went to Olivia. "And you must be the innocent straight-from-heaven angel that Jezebel was ordered to kidnap."

Olivia smiled a bit but didn't quite meet his eyes.

"And you must be the dull, boring, hairline receding six and a half years in a relationship that's going nowhere queer who thinks he's funny when he's really not that I was instructed to bring in addition to her," Karen chirped back wryly.

"Oh, is Satan taking those now? And here I was thinking there was a nifty little corner office with my name on it up in heaven."

"Well, there's something with your name on it," Karen said, "but it isn't in heaven and it sure as hell isn't a corner office." She bent down so she was Olivia's height. "I'll be right outside here with Will and Grace while you get your x-rays, okay, and you'll be able to see me through this big window."

"Will it hurt?"

"Maybe a little bit, but if it does, just think of the time when Grace fell asleep in her desk chair and I tied her to it and pulled the fire alarm."

Olivia burst out laughing at this, although Grace looked much less amused at the memory of it. But she couldn't help but smile as Olivia continued to giggle all the way into the lab.

"Poor kid," she remarked, watching as the orderly and x-ray technician set Olivia up for her x-rays. "How did you say she broke her arm, Karen?"

"She…well, you know, I'm not exactly sure." Karen licked her lips anxiously before she could stop it. "All I know is that she and the fat one were tearing through that house like the devil was after them--"

"Well, were you?" Will inquired, and Karen ignored him.

"And…and the next thing I know, I…well, one of the maids came to get me and…" Karen shrugged as if none of it mattered, when it really did.

"So she fell, or…?" Will frowned.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Where's Stan?" Grace wanted to know.

"He left a few hours ago for Chicago, he's got some kind of deal to make there. I told him I'd stay around and…well, Olivia breaks her arm…"

"Oh, but Karen, it's not your fault that she did," Grace soothed. "They're still pretty young yet and they're going to get wild no matter what you say or what you do. It's just plain suck luck that got Olivia to the hospital, you know? And broken arms heal. You had nothing to do with it."

A sob rose to Karen's throat, knowing that she had everything to do with it.

"Stan will understand," Grace added, misinterpreting Karen's distress.

"No, no, I'm…yes, I know he will. I should…I should call him, you know…let him know that…"

"All right." Grace caressed her shoulder. "I suppose we should check up on Jack and then we're still going for the Blizzards, right, Will?"

"Yeah yeah, three of them," Will affirmed impatiently. "I got you the first time." He shot a sideways glance at Karen. "I don't suppose Olivia would appreciate it if we were to drop her off one maybe a little later on?"

"I'm sure she would." Karen tried to smile. "I can't guarantee she'd be awake enough to enjoy it, but we could save it in the freezer for her if that was the case."

Grace caught Will's stern eye and sighed as she pulled a pudding cup out from under her shirt. "Here's a little something to tide her over."

"Okay," the orderly said cheerfully, wheeling Olivia out, "the doctor's going to review the x-rays and then we're going to send you to a doctor who will set her arm. She'll be good to go after that."

"Thank you," Karen said quietly, glancing down at her future stepdaughter. "You okay there?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just tired."

"Well, you'll be home and in bed before too much longer, just hang in there for a little while."

Olivia went through the remainder of the process as if in a dream, crying when the doctor told Karen that Olivia would have to keep the cast on for a good eight weeks but she appreciated how Karen allowed her to cry against her silk blouse in comfort as she did. By the time the cast had been set into place, Olivia was nearly asleep so after quickly filling pain medication prescriptions at the hospital pharmacy, Karen carried her to the waiting limo, holding her securely to her as the little girl slept. Karen stroked her hair, cheeks, arm now and again, not really thinking about it, her mind swimming with other things.

She should have had no trouble loving Olivia. Stanley didn't. Will didn't, Grace didn't, and while there was no relations between them as there would soon be between Olivia and Karen, Will and Grace had something with the child that Karen did not, and didn't know if she ever could. Her vision blurred as her gaze went from the broken arm to the various bumps and bruises that were beginning to form from the earlier beating; her fingers brushed the scar just barely visible between Olivia's hairline and actual skin where Karen had cut her with glass from a broken liquor bottle. The mark on her shoulder where Karen had knocked her with Mason's hockey stick.

It didn't seem as if she, as if Karen Delaney-Popeil-St. Croix-soon-to-be-Walker had inflicted this pain, had created this life for Olivia that she had no business living. That she was responsible for her fear, her confusion, her not understanding why she wasn't being loved. These were not the struggles a seven year old was supposed to be having.

This was someone else's child. Someone else had done this. It had to be.

Olivia hadn't so much as stirred by the time Karen was putting her into her bed, tucking her blankets firmly around her. The doorbell chimed as Karen stood, watching her sleeping form and a maid came up to announce Grace's arrival.

"As promised," she said cheerfully, holding out the Brownie Batter Blizzard for Karen to see as Karen came into the front hall to greet her. "But I suppose she's fast asleep by now."

"Yeah, she is, but I'll have the cook save it for her." Karen called out to the cook and passed on her request.

"I would have brought you one too, but it's one of those things that makes you reflect on how wonderful life is so I figured you wouldn't appreciate it if I did," Grace said. When Karen didn't respond, Grace shifted unnervingly. "So…you want me to…stick around for a bit?…Maybe?"

"Well, if you want to, honey, I've just got…something I need to take care of if you…want to listen in case Olivia wakes up and needs something."

"Okay, sure." Grace smiled, not used to Karen sounding so maternal; she was proud of her. Olivia did wake up a few minutes later in tears over her pain medication wearing off, and when Grace went off in search of Karen, she was nowhere to be found. Grace stopped one of the maids who didn't seem the least bit dismayed by Karen's disappearance.

"Um, yes, Miss Karen," she said brightly with a heavy Spanish accent. "She go…she leave. Understand?"

"But where?" Grace pressed urgently. "Um…where?…Uh, _donde_…_donde es…_no…um…" Grace trailed off helplessly.

_"Donde?" _the maid repeated earnestly. "Yes, _donde! _She do not say…_donde…_"

"She didn't say where she went?"

"No, no, she just take her bags and she say…she say one thing for Senor Walker and little girl, she say, 'I'm sorry.'"

Grace frowned. "Sorry? For what?"

"I not know, Miss, she just say 'I'm sorry.'"

"Okay." Rather dazed by this point, Grace wasn't looking at her any longer. "Th…thank you." She went to the bedroom Karen shared with Stan to see for herself, and the maid's words were instantly confirmed.

"Grace?"

Grace whirled around at the small, sweet voice. Ever perceptive, Olivia had sensed trouble.

"Oh sweetie, go…you shouldn't be up right now, your arm…" She glimpsed Olivia's pain meds on the edge of the bedside table. "Go back to bed and I'll bring this to you."

Olivia was not to be undone. "Where's Karen?"

"She…well, she's…Karen will be back soon, she just…" Grace sighed and sank down on to the king size bed. "Screw it. I don't know where she is, Olivia."

Olivia, watching her from the doorway, didn't say anything, and Grace sighed again. This was a sharp kid if Grace ever saw one, and knew there was more. Grace had to give it to her.

"She…" Grace paused to clear her throat. "She told one of the maids…well, I guess she said to tell your daddy…and you…that she's sorry." Grace studied her carefully. "Do you--what does she mean? Do you know?"

Without skipping a beat, Olivia nodded.

Grace was about to question her further when she got a good look at Olivia's eyes. They were not the eyes of a girl as little as she; they were confused, scared, yes--but what got to Grace was how tired, how very, very old they appeared. Upon seeing this, Grace knew that Olivia didn't need more questions. Little Olivia, it was plain to see, was carrying the weight of an old woman.

"Olivia," Grace said quietly. "There's a lot I didn't know, wasn't there?"

Olivia nodded again.

"Okay. Now what?" Her voice was as gently as could be as she asked.

Olivia shrugged.

"You're done answering questions, aren't you?"

Nod.

"Well, you might not know, but I do, and I'm sorry too, Olivia. So…sorry."

She opened her arms and waited. Olivia stared. She couldn't give into this, she'd break, she'd fall and not be able to get up, she'd…

And suddenly she found herself in Grace's arms, the wall she had desperately built so solidly around her smashed to pieces and in their place, tears as they had never come before. Grace clutched the small child she had reached out to, wanting her to have no room for doubt, for fear, for anything she had been feeling that she should have been protected from and wasn't. Grace wanted Olivia to feel none of that through her embrace, only love and a promise of safety, of protection. She had Olivia in her lap, stroking her curls as Olivia sobbed into her shoulder. She kissed her delicate cheek, even shed a few tears of her own.

"I've got you, sweetheart…" she whispered into the girl's ear, "I'm keeping you…please let me do that for you…please let me tell you that you're going to be okay…"

"But you don't know that." Olivia's voice was barely audible.

"Then let me hold you…and tell you…and keep telling you until we both know it will be."

So Olivia did.


	9. Turning Point

_Thanks everybody...:-)_

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_"Grace! _Grace, you have to stop, you only get three turns!" Olivia shrieked happily. 

"To hell with that," Grace shouted as she continued to swing, "damn piñata…"

"You said the h word and the d word," Mason announced.

Grace uttered a much worse profanity under her breath and swung once more, connecting solidly with the piñata and nearly killing the party of twelve other children in her mad dash for the candy flying in multiple directions.

"Grace, for God's sake," Will yelled, but he was grinning.

A good year and a half had passed since anyone had seen Karen, and as Olivia had turned eight two weeks after she left, she was now celebrating her ninth birthday. The weeks following Karen's disappearance had been utter pandemonium; everyone had tried everything humanly possible to track her down. Grace, Daddy, Will, everyone. But she hadn't left a single trace as to where she might be. Olivia lived those days with mixed feelings; relieved. She was free from the beatings. No new bruises took place of the old ones, and save for one or two stubborn scars, it was almost as if Olivia had never been touched. More fear. Karen was gone now, but she could always come back. Grief. A part of her was loving Karen, missing her, loving and missing the part that was pleasant to Olivia, who had fun with her, as rare as it was. If only Karen could have been like that all the time. If only.

The truth had never come out, not all the way. Even Grace, Olivia knew, could not even begin to fathom what she had been through with Karen, but she had been as good as her word to keep Olivia close to her, which Olivia had every reason to suspect Grace had encouraged Will to do as well. They had. And in a sense, put her back into the childhood she was meant to have.

Life had moved on for Daddy. Not easily, but Olivia saw him. Saw him struggling, saw him in the rages directed toward herself and Mason that really had nothing to do with them at all. Heard him pacing his room at night. Even possibly crying at one point, which Olivia couldn't be completely certain of. She almost doubted it--Daddy didn't cry. Ever.

This had all been just over a year and a half that felt like ten to Olivia.

"Okay big girl, I need another garbage bag over here."

Olivia smiled as she passed the requested bag to Will. It was now late afternoon, the party had come and gone. Will, Olivia, and Grace were giving the grounds people a hand cleaning up, though Grace wasn't so much helping as she was nabbing the remains of cake and candy she was finding on leftover plates.

"Will," Olivia called to him quietly as she came upon a spare bag of full water balloons that hadn't been used during the water balloon dodge ball game. He dug into the bag, smiling rather wickedly as his gaze zeroed in on Grace, her back to them both, licking one of the party plates in attempt to scrounge up any cake crumbs she could. She had no time to react before she was ambushed by Will and Olivia.

"Oh my _God!" _she shrieked, wasting no time grabbing for water balloons herself and retaliating. They were so busy running, screaming, jumping, giggling that they didn't notice the cab pulling up to the driveway of the Walker manse.

"Hey, are you guys going already?" Olivia complained, the first who glimpsed it after somersaulting to avoid a balloon.

"Going?" Grace followed her gaze. "I didn't call a cab, Will, did you?"

"No, Stan said he'd have the car bring us back whenever we…" Will trailed off when they saw someone emerging from it.

Olivia found Grace's hand subconsciously and clung to it. She was seeing things. She had to be. And if she wasn't…

"Is…" Will murmured.

The visitor stood there. Just watching them, uncertain of what her next step should be. But then her eyes went to Olivia, and she knew. Olivia clutched at Grace even more tightly as the visitor drew nearer, and Will edged closer to Olivia and Grace, placing his hands soothingly on Olivia's frail shoulders.

"Hiya, Orphan Annie."

Karen had stopped within four or five feet of them. "How ya doing?"

Olivia couldn't even think of answering her.

"Yeah, I don't blame you." She smiled at Will and Grace a bit. "Hey Sue. Hey Fashion Don't."

They nodded vaguely at her.

"You wouldn't want to give Annie and me a few minutes, would you?" Karen asked them, and Will and Grace gently disentangled themselves from the gradually panicking girl. Grace felt it mounting and gave her a squeeze.

"We'll be right over there, where you can see us if you need anything," she whispered into her ear.

Olivia turned back to the one who had caused so much pain, hurt, sadness, the remnants of the terrifying nightmare she had lived whenever she could feel her now healed arm twinge.

"You have no reason to want to talk to me." Karen's voice was soft. "And if you wouldn't, I'd understand. It would be okay. But…well, I'm not going to count on you believing me right now when I say things are different, but I'll say it anyway." She chuckled uneasily. "Things are different. I don't know. Are they…are things different for you?"

Olivia nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

"Different better?"

She hesitated.

"You can tell me the truth, honey." Karen smiled sadly. "You'll be right."

Olivia hesitated some more before nodding again. Neither of them spoke. Just watched one another.

"Oh hell." Karen had been trying to control the urge to cry all the way over here and could no longer do so. "God, I don't know what I was thinking. There's nothing I can say to you, Olivia. Nothing that takes back those months when hell was your whole life. It just doesn't work to tell you I'm sorry, but…I have to tell you. I am. If you were me, could know…and I wish you were, just for a minute. Just so you could. I…there's help. There were things that I…well, you knew. How much I wish you didn't know, but...anyway, I found some. Help, I mean. And now it's your birthday, so I thought…you know, I thought it could be…maybe a gift, but now, looking at you…oh God, you've gotten so tall. Anyway, I can see that we…how in the hell could you forgive this? I don't know. So…" Karen leaned forward and kissed her. "Happy birthday, kid." She turned to leave.

Olivia was going to let her. She really was. She could not think of one positive thing that might come out of her remaining, but before she could stop herself,

"You know…Daddy missed you."

Karen paused but didn't turn around. "I missed him too. I just…I didn't think…I was hurting him more by staying." _And you, _they both knew she wasn't saying.

"But he was crying. And he never does that. No matter what happens." She was certain now that he had.

"He was?"

"Yeah. And…remember when we got my dress?"

"For the wedding?" Karen chuckled fondly. "Yeah. I do."

"I never got to wear it."

"I know. That's all right. I suppose your father's sent everything back by now."

"No. It's all still here."

"Well, then I don't see why would want to wear it, unless it was for another wedding."

"I don't know."

"Olivia--" Karen drew in several deep breaths, trying to keep her voice steady. "I never meant to come here and ask anything from you. That's not why I'm here. Or I didn't think I was, but…I just need to know. Could you…even if it wasn't today…is it even possible for…maybe you would…think about forgiving me?"

Olivia's eyes filled with tears. How was she supposed to answer that? And even if she knew…could she? What came with Karen were memories of anguish, of despair, yes, but a strange fondness for her at the same time. How could she live with her, if she wouldn't end up being true to her word…but how could she live without her?

Olivia's tears were all it took for Karen's own eyes to well up again.

"I didn't think so," she whispered, beginning on her way again.

"Karen…"

She almost didn't pause this time, but eventually did.

Karen whirled around, tears trickling down her face. "Oh my God, Olivia, I'm so sorry." Never in a million years would Olivia have anticipated Karen doing what she did then; she was lost in Karen's arms, stiffening initially at the unexpected embrace, but soon let herself give into it. They let go after a short time, even Karen had her limits. As changed as Karen claimed to be, Olivia was sure this was something that most likely would not. And there were many things Olivia would never know about Karen, would never understand. Even that Karen herself wouldn't. And for the time being, that was okay.

"What about your father?" Karen asked Olivia after a few moments of silence.

"What about him?"

"I…" Karen bit her lip as she gazed at the towering manse. "I wouldn't be surprised if he never wanted to see me again."

Olivia pulled her gently forward. "Then we should go find out."

Will and Grace smiled as they passed, and Olivia squeezed Grace's hand with her free one, letting go more quickly than Grace could recall her doing at any other point in the past year and a half. Grace, and Will, had been Olivia's solid ground, the ones holding her close, the ones making sure that she stayed seven going on eight, then eight going on nine versus eight going on forty. And now they understood through Olivia's gesture, even if Olivia was slightly too young to understand herself, that she was letting them go. Because as willingly as the pair had given themselves to the responsibility, their time had passed. It was time for the rightful people to step into their rightful place, and Will and Grace were sure that some way or another, they would.


End file.
